Open AccessLand, Nation and Tourist
Author(s) -
Mary Hawkins,
Helena Önnudóttir
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
anthropological journal of european cultures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.242
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 1755-2931
pISSN - 1755-2923
DOI - 10.3167/ajec.2017.260208
Subject(s) - icelandic , tourism , identity (music) , viking age , trips architecture , history , geography , language change , ethnology , archaeology , art , aesthetics , literature , philosophy , linguistics , parallel computing , computer science
Land is central to Icelandic identity. It is birthright, heritage, a siteof memory and belonging; mountains and fjords are the stuff onwhich Icelandic dreams are made. Land is made culture throughstory and song, told at family gatherings, and sung at schools and onhiking trips. Icelandic identity was built on this imagining, coupledto a vision of Icelanders as an exceptional people, a Viking race. Theevents of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), which exposed institutionalcorruption, caused many Icelanders to doubt the Viking image.At the same time, Iceland has been invaded by tourists. This article,based on participant observation, a survey and interviews, arguesthat one significant effect of the post-GFC foreign invasion has beena transformation of the cultural and moral order in Iceland, awayfrom the boasting Viking and towards a new set of values withinwhich land and nature occupy an even more central place.